Comrade Cecil Paul, former First Vice President of the OIlfields Workers Trade Union; former General Secretary of the Council of Progressive Trade Unions; former committee member National Workers Union died on 18th August 2026 after a short illness. 

A memorial service to honour and pay tribute to Comrade Cecil Paul 

Date: Tuesday 25th August 2026

Time: 2 pm

Place: Transport and Industrial Workers Union, 114 Eastern Main Road, Laventille

In 1889, the Marxist International Socialist Congress met in Paris and established the Second International as a successor to the earlier International Workingmen's Association. They adopted a resolution for a "great international demonstration" in support of working-class demands for the eight-hour day. The 1 May date was chosen by the American Federation of Labor to commemorate a general strike in the United States, which had begun on 1 May 1886 and culminated in the Haymarket affair four days later. The demonstration subsequently became a yearly event.[5] The 1904 Sixth Conference of the Second International called on "all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the eight-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace". More ...

The origin of May Day is indissolubly bound up with the struggle for the shorter workday – a demand of major political significance for the working class. This struggle is manifest almost from the beginning of the factory system in the United States. More ...

The happy idea of using a proletarian holiday celebration as a means to attain the eight-hour day was first born in Australia. The workers there decided in 1856 to organize a day of complete stoppage together with meetings and entertainment as a demonstration in favor of the eight-hour day. The day of this celebration was to be April 21. At first, the Australian workers intended this only for the year 1856. But this first celebration had such a strong effect on the proletarian masses of Australia, enlivening them and leading to new agitation, that it was decided to repeat the celebration every year. More ...

Most dismissals go to the Industrial Court because they are "harsh and oppressive or not in accordance with the principles of good industrial relations practice". The alternative is to process a matter to the High Court as a common law complaint of "wrongful dismissal". 

It is well established that you cannot have the same matter in two jurisdictions. So, which route to take?

See here for a strategy on the way forward.

On 15 May 2014, RBC Royal Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) Ltd (“the Bank”) dismissed 42 estate constables from its employment on the grounds that they were redundant, as the Bank had decided to outsource security services to some of its locations. The dismissals gave rise to a dispute between the estate constables and the Bank. The dispute was referred to the Special Tribunal - the body responsible for determining disputes between estate constables and an employer. The Special Tribunal decided that it had no jurisdiction to hear and determine the dispute. The EPA appealed the matter to the Privy Council and won a significant victory.

The EPA has now written to the Attorney General, calling for amendments to the Industrial Relations Act and Civil Service Act concerning the functioning of the Special Tribunal.

Read the full story here.

17th September 2024 - Update

Union leaders call for Industrial Court judge to step down

Report in Trinidaad Guardian

A well attended event at the Arima Community Centre on 7th September 2024 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Domestic Workers Union (NUDE) by Clotil Walcott and other comrades in 1974. It was as much a celebration and acknowledgement of the tireless work of Comrade Clotil as it was a recognition of the union’s struggle for half a century.

Representatives of the Ministry of Labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Federation of Domestic Workers and the local MP, Pennelope Beckles-Robinson were present at the event.

Read a detailed report of this event and NUDE's ongoing fight for the rights of dometic workers. 

Comrade Chris Abraham was active in the trade union movement for most of his adult life. At various times, he was an officer with the OWTU, CWU, ACAWU and finally, the National Workers Union.

Comrade Cecil Paul knew Chris for many years, and his appreciation of the work of Chris over the years can be found here.

Chris also spent some time working for the Tobago Regional Health Authority who have also acknowledged his contribution here.

This year’s May Day anniversary will go down in history as a bloody anniversary. Because while millions of workers around the world organize themselves, demand against the anti-people’s policies of the capital, its governments and the EU, our colleagues in Palestine will be burying the dozens of bodies murdered every day in the genocide that is carried out by Israel. Workers in every corner of the globe will not remain silent in the crime being committed. They will turn every May Day activity into a demonstration of solidarity with the struggling Palestinian people, and of condemnation of the murderous state of Israel and its imperialist allies who in one way or another support the massacre. More

Respect for workers’ rights, high union density and collective agreement coverage lead to more equitable wealth distribution and greater public trust in democratic institutions. Norway, for instance, is cited by the V-Dem Institute as a leading example of a deliberative and egalitarian democracy due to its high trade union density and collective agreement coverage.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “Trade unions are the world’s biggest social movement. We embody and practice democratic values daily, and it’s time we reaffirmed our commitment to defending and promoting these principles globally. Democracy is not just a political ideal but a lived reality that workers are uniquely positioned to defend and enhance.” More ...

Strictly speaking, it's not that the Union won but that CAL lost.

When BWIA pretended to close on 31st December 2006, the only things that were not transferred to Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) were the workers and Union recognition. In reality, it was a massive union-busting exercise.

Of the four Unions recognised in BWIA, only the Communications, Transport, and General Workers Union (CATTU) made an application to the Industrial Court for successorship. It took from 2007 to 2017 for the matter to finally conclude with a judgement in favour of CATTU.

Needless to say, CAL appealed the decision, but in a judgment on 22nd April 2024, the Court of Appeal basically confirmed the Industrial Court decision, which means that CATTU (now called the National Aviation Workers Union) is the only recognised union at CAL. The work now begins.